“More Star Trek before bed and more Oolong. This was received with my recent Tealux order, the name inspired my purchase.
In raw form the Oolong is long and thin in the shape of random...”
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From Tealux

Couple years ago, Taiwan tea farmers have been experiencing a new wave – ‘Brandy Oolong’ – a classy and new category of Taiwanese Oolongs. Brandy Oolong’s differ from Black tea in that they aren’t quite fully oxidized, but rather, 85% – 90% oxidized and made according to traditional Oolong processing methods. This series of teas made from Taiwan’s most famous cultivars (Jin Xuan, Qing Xin Oolong, and Ruby 18) are named for their wonderful, rich amber color and drank by connoisseurs from brandy glasses. The newly developed Oolong Ruby 18 is heavily oxidized oolong tea with a strong ‘cultivar’ character in aroma, flavor and taste.

Brandy Oolong is suitable for drinking straight, without sugar, honey or milk. Brandy Oolong is the new favorite and will become Taiwan’s treasures along with Wenshan Pouchong, Oriental Beauty, Classic Dung Ding, Jade Oolong, and Aged Oolong.

The younger generation thinks the Brandy Oolong is very ‘cool’ and really love it!

9 Tasting Notes

Well. I can certainly say I’ve never had an oolong like this before! It’s so… complex!
There is the standard heavy oxidized and roasted aspect that I get with most dark oolongs. Sweet notes of stone fruit and barley.
But then, well there is a creaminess I’ve never experienced before. Almost as if it’s a dark milky oolong. Or that deep sugary sweetness you get from milk chocolate, without the cocoa note that is. Just the tone of the sugar.
Hot, I can definitely understand the comparison to Brandy. I imagine if you drank them side by side, there would be many similarities.
Yep, this is quite good. I wouldn’t want it often, but then, I don’t have brandy much either!

More Star Trek before bed and more Oolong. This was received with my recent Tealux order, the name inspired my purchase.

In raw form the Oolong is long and thin in the shape of random curls of dark brown colour. Also note there are some twigs/stems present too but not many.

It has a sweet, wooden yet sugary scent. Rather unlike any other Oolongs I have come across. I would say the sugary scent was very similar to raw sugar cane.

It’s steeped scent is much different now, strong and leathery with malt but still the sugar cane is present. Now it’s in-between a black tea and medium-high oxidized Oolong.

Flavour matches it’s new steeped aroma. It’s sweet and smooth with malt and wood tones. It’s not dissimilar from Dian Hong, only much sweeter. Also getting a subtle hint of smoke in the after taste along with some dark fermented fruit.

It’s just bizarre, it’s so similar to a black tea….I keep telling myself it’s an Oolong but the taste buds are refusing it. I love it, will have to definitely buy more of this for the future. Husband loves this one too which is rare for him.

If anyone else is sipping tea and is a Star Trek fan then here is a video for you to sip, watch and enjoy. :)

I think my taste buds are plebeian when it comes to straight teas. I read Indigbloom’s review of this one and thought, wow. She tasted all of that in THIS? My taste buds need work.

It’s drinkable. I like the fact that no sugar is needed, as it does have a bit of sweetness to it already. There is no astringency, which is great. I don’t think I’m ready to give up my flavoured teas any time soon, though.

I’m rating this a bit higher than I otherwise would, because I think true straight tea drinkers would really enjoy this.

Preparation

It’s creamy, sooo creamy and smooth. There’s a maltiness there that makes it taste close to a black tea, but without the bam in the face that blacks can give you. Like a gentle wake up call to the soul.

It’s not at all astringent when brewed according to directions, but there’s a drying aspect to it that makes my throat hurt. It’s nice, but at this point not particularly memorable (yet). I’m not sure I’ll repurchase, but it was a lovely experience.

Transitioning to straight teas slowly, it seems. How I realized this?! In my last Tealux order only ONE tea was flavoured, the dragon lychee pearls, which I have to say are a must have. All the rest are pu’erh and unflavoured teas. Monkey tips and white buds and the likes, and this one of course.

I get no grape (like Dexter did) but this tastes entirely like a black tea to me. The leaves, however, are gorgeous. Loooong long leaves. Longest I’ve ever seen. Exclamation crossed my lips upon opening the bag. Also, gorgeous as it is, I must say it ain’t exactly ruby :). More like brandy. I saw not much difference between steeps. I have yet to have the time to steep 7 times like some hard core drinkers but I did it three times. Three back to back 8 oz cups is hard corer for me!

In others news, I’m in love. During my last Jann Arden concert two days ago I became aware of this amazingly talented singer who was part of her band. And seriously, once I googled said singer and further realized how talented (and hot!) she is, I am smitten. Seriously, if you can spare a “like” in her Facebook, you should. And she has her own website, however bare it is at the moment allisoncornell.com

mmmm thanks for sharing this with me Dexter I am a fan of this one. it has a similar profile to some of the TTC teas that i’ve had, but there’s an under current to this one that makes it a little heavier, and perhaps more to my liking? though i’d need to do a side by side to really figure that out. This is sweet and fruity and dark and twisty. love it! thanks dexter!

WOW – this is one of the strangest straight tea’s I’ve ever drank. This is grape oolong, this is more grape than some flavored oolongs I’ve had. Weird, strange, interesting – in a good way. Wouldn’t say brandy, but this is fruity and GRAPE all the way.
It’s really dark, almost black, with just a hint of oolong woody and then the grape – wow – did I mention the grape?
Thank you so much Ubacat for introducing me to this one. Will pick more up with my next Tealux order.

It’s like this tea is just on the border of being a black tea but not quite. It brews up a rich dark color like a black tea with a malty flavor and just a touch of the creaminess. It doesn’t have any bitterness or harshness that I find sometimes in black teas. Well, of course it’s not a black tea. It’s an oolong.
As this cools down a bit more it’s even more delicious. Got caught up in a conversation with my mother in law forgetting about my tea and then I took a sip. Wow! More milky notes coming through along with the dark robust malty flavor. What a treat!

Second Infusion and it seems to lose the milky flavor and less malty. More like a black tea. Not too thrilled with the 2nd infusion but maybe I didn’t use enough tea or didn’t let it steep long enough.